Takuya Nakamura (JP)

Across his career, Takuya Nakamura has played Brazilian music, salsa and straight-ahead jazz. He’s opened for Sun Ra Arkestra, performed with David Byrne, Terry Riley, Laurie Anderson, Lee “Scratch” Perry, GZA (Wu Tang Clan), and Arto Lindsay, appeared on sessions with Terry Riley and Cocorosie, and remixed the likes of Quincy Jones, Sun Ra, Billie Holiday, and The Streets. He’s also played under director and playwright Robert Wilson.

Although the musical past and present of the Tokyo-born, New York-based DJ and trumpet player is undoubtedly eclectic, Nakamura is abidingly steeped in the sounds of jazz and jungle. This’ll be obvious to people who may have seen viral videos of him. But there’s more to this. The depth of Nakamura’s engagement with these kinds of music, the way they’ve made him into the person he is, the decades-long path they’ve taken him on.And so to now arrive at the summit with a new record like this is truly remarkable. Shape The Future resonates with every chapter of this story.